And so the story comes to an end...

We woke at at 6:15AM Poland-time, grabbed breakfast and headed to the airport for our departure from Poland...

Well, as the story of life would have it, our flight was delayed by about an hour and twenty minutes because of a morning strike that prevented our flights arrival.

We then made way to Frankfurt Germany and touched down at 1:45 for our 1:40 departure for Philadelphia. Needless to say, we didn't quite make it on that flight. After a good two hours in Frankfurt where the plans began with spending the night in Frankfurt and led to a few breakdowns, our determination went through and we found out at 4PM that we would be boarding a flight to Philadelphia via Chicago that left at 5:15. We ran through that airport (guided by the best Lufthansa ticket desk clerk ever) found our luggage and re-checked it and made our way through security to find that our flight was delayed by 30 minutes.

In those 30 minutes we made contact with the incredible Mrs. Snyder here at EC who booked us a bus that would drive us from Philadelphia to Elmira.

The 30 minute delay then put is into Chicago late (after an 8.5 hour flight), and gave us a little less than one hour to make it through all the customs offices, re-check our bags, and get to our gate. So, onward we ran again and we made our way through passport control, found our luggage, and proceeded through customs in less that 45 minutes (near record time?). We arrived at our plane to Philadelphia about 5 minutes before boarding began and made it on board.

We landed in Philadelphia at 11:45, found our bus, and hit the road to Elmira at about 1AM. We rolled into the Tower's parking lot at 5AM this morning.

Moral of this story: Where there is a will, there is a way.

Note from author: If ever you come across the Lufthansa ticket clerk, and Mrs. Snyder, be sure to thank them for their help in our safe return :).

-Over and Out (for the last time)
Jeremy


P.S. Life is always an adventure, eh?

If only I were a mixture of the travelocity gnome and the energizer bunny... Imagine travelling with that....

So today was our last day in Poland. We are all a bit tired, and although, if everyone on the trip is anything like me, we all enjoyed Poland, we are all ready to come home. The trip was a fun and rewarding experience... but I for one miss my Mommy and Daddy... and my chicken salad, salt and vinegar chips, and ice. I have learned a lot here, I have grown a lot here, and I have become very, very exhausted here, which is why this post will not be long at all.

The trip was great. Poland is pretty. Here is a picture of all of us at dinner tonight with our awesome tour guide Wlodik. Wlodik, was just about the best tour guide ever. He knew a lot of history, he was patient, and he made sure that all of us little egglets were safe and kept out of harms way the whole trip. I am pretty sure that all you parents out there should love him as much as we all came to.






-Kristin... That is an I as the second to last letter... just in case anyone was confused about that.... Yeah, an I... not an E. A pet peeve of mine.

The Salt of the Earth (or NaCl Overload)

We started off our day today by touring the Wieliczka (approximately pronounced as "Vee-LEESH-ka") Salt Mine, about a ten minute drive from our hotel. We started off our tour with a 300+ step descent into the mine... 54 landings (they were numbered), seven steps to each landing. Down and down and down we went... it was a little dizzying actually. I never thought we would get here... but hey, it's better than going up.


FINALLY we reached the first level, where we were able to view many sculptures carved out of salt... such as this one of a queen...











and this one of a friendly salt mine gnome, with his light up piece of pinkish rock salt. Because who doesn't love friendly salt mine gnomes?
















There was also a group of sculptures of the seven dwarves. Our guide helpfully explained that Snow White was at home cleaning, since she never came into the mine.










There were even chapels and a cathedral carved into the salt. Everything is made from the salt... even the beautiful chandeliers are made from salt crystals!










The cathedral was decorated with many sculptures and art... such as depictions of Mary and Joseph, the birth of Jesus, and even the famous Last Supper, seen here to the left.










We all decided to avoid the cost of having a random Polish guy take our photo, and just have our tour guide take it on my camera instead. (P.S. It cost ten zloty to take pictures in the mine... luckily everyone pitched in, and I took as many pictures as I could without getting left behind!) So, here's the entire gang in front of the altar in probably the only salt cathedral in the world!







After the tour of the salt mine, we went to lunch and then had a three hour tour of the city of Krakow. We visited the castle/palace and cathedral on Wawel Hill, from which Krakow had its beginnings as a city.









Then, we went into St. Mary's Church, to view the famous medieval altar, as Jeremy explained in his post. I was trying to be a good citizen and looked at the sign on the way in to see if I could take pictures, and it only said we couldn't take pictures without flash. So, I took this picture without flash, and then a guy came up to me and explained that I needed to pay 5 zloty in order to take pictures in the church! Needless to say, I didn't pay and I kept this picture. So... everyone can enjoy this free picture (even if it is a little fuzzy) of the altar of St. Mary's Church!









Well, that's it from me for today! Hope everyone enjoyed the post and continue to do well at home!
-Sarah

Tour of Krakow

Today we went on a walking tour of some parts of Krakow.

We started out by walking through park that surrounds the entire Old Town. The park is very nice. There are trees and grass, and benches. We arrived on Saturday and the park was filled with locals. Today we walked through the parks to Wawel Hill, the part of the city located on the Vistula River.

We started on Wawel Hill by seeing the statue of Smok the Dragon. According to legend a seven-headed dragon lived in a cave and was eating the beautiful women of the town. To get rid of the dragon, they put a sheep filled with sulfur and the dragon came out and ate the sheep. Due to the sulfur his insides because very hot and he drank and drank out of the Vistula River, and drank until he exploded. The statue was erected in his honor, and the dragon breathes fire!! (Very cool!)

After the dragon we went through the Wawel (pronounced vavel) Castle. This castle was built as a royal residence, until the capital was later moved to Warsaw. The castle was very nice and the walls are covered with tapastries which were earlier part of a collection of more than 300.

Following the Castle we went to the Cathedral. The Cathedral was where the kings, poets, and national heros were buried. We learned a lot about each of the kings and heros today. The catacombs were very nicely decorated for the royalty. We also got to go into the crypt of the castle were there are many catacombs.

We then headed to St. Mary's Church where we got to see the famous High Altar. It is the largest wooden Gothic high altar in Europe. It was very impressive and very bright. The Poles outsmarted the invaders (many of them) and took many of the art peices (from the Castle and Church) and moved them to other counties.

The tour was very fun, and our tour guide was very proud of Krakow and made some very comical remarks. Krakow is a very nice city with lots to discover!

-Over and Out
Jeremy

Driving past the hometown...

So, everyone put up posts about the Zakopane region and the raft ride, as well as some of the fantastic pictures you can get here! I just wanted to let my family know back at home as we rode out in the minibus to our rafting excursion and back we passed by the dam and the reservoir that flooded the valley in the Tatra Mountains. Dr. Bizub asked our guide if he knew where any of the towns were that are now underwater, but unfortunately he didn't know. So...I may have passed my Grandma's family's hometown today! Now off to Krakow...
Maggie

YAY Pictures!

Kristin bought some pretty sweet earmuffs for her niece. So naturally, Amanda is wearing them. And looking mighty fine I might add. :)













Last night brought us to Bakowo Zohylina, a rustic restaurant (Gaston's lair?) serving Zakopane's traditional foods. The walls were decorated with traditional costumes, as well as various furs and stuffed animals. This picture was taken before we saw the....










...blood sausage. Why waste a good source of protein, right? I could not bring myself to try it... but those who did either liked it or explained it as having a "strong" flavor.












We started off this morning with a breakfast at the hotel, then we headed to the Pieniny National Park for a raft ride on the Dunajec River. We spent a relaxing two hours winding through the mountains. Along the way, we saw countless mallard ducks, two black storks (very rare! very exciting!), a large turtle-shaped rock, and certain images within the rocks (I did not see most of them... a very good imagination and some squinting were required!) Then, since it was "tradition" (a.k.a. a reason to laugh at tourists...), we had to sing. We chose "Simeon Benjamin" since it is near and dear to all of our hearts. :)



A view of "The Three Crowns" as seen from the raft. Named Barbara, Catherine, and Mary, after the wives of the kings of Hungary, Austria, and Poland in the 16th century.












Our guide (white shirt) took a liking to Kristin... She then took the place as one of our raft men, and got to wear his traditional vest and hat. He took her Red Sox hat in exchange. She did an excellent job, and was followed by Manda and Jeremy. They all looked pretty sweet in that vest and hat.















Randomness... After lunch, we stopped on the way back to Zakopane to see the Parish Church of St. Michael the Archangel. This church is made of all wood in the Goralski style, and is the only one of its kind in the region.
This picture is obviously not of the church. We could not drive up to it because the road was blocked for construction... so we had to make our way around the tar through a narrow ditch-like situation (holding onto the pole for support) and then across a grate with extremely wide gaps... tricky for the small-footed person like myself... It was a random adventure, and I found it rather hilarious.

It was another great day in Poland! Rather rainy, but the weather cooperated with us for the most part. It waited to start raining until we were done with our raft ride, and there was another break while we were visiting the church. We had the rest of the afternoon/evening/night free, and we leave early tomorrow morning for our last stop- Krakow! We're all looking forward to the adventures to come!

Love! :)
Jess

Pictures galore!!!

Since Amanda pretty much covered what we have been doing these past couple days without the internet to update you all at home, I'm just going to put up some lovely pictures for everyone to enjoy. Beware though, they are kind of random... hopefully you like them!

Okay, so I know everyone was just dying to know what a lungfish looks like, so here it is... everyone's favorite sarcopterygii. Notice the lovely lobed fins (where the muscle goes all the way into the fin, not just at the top). These lobed fins were what preceded the limbs of land dwellers such as ourselves.








This goes back a while ago, but I just thought I'd put up a picture of Kimmy and her future husband/pen friend dancing... Just in case everyone is wondering... in every picture of them dancing, Mike (Mikolai) has a huge smile on his face.







Kristin convinced me to go on the teeter totter with her... so, as a result she got her picture taken.











Here's the gang at the memorial on Westerplatte. It really helps you to see just how massive that memorial was!

















And we fast forward to just a few days ago, while visiting Biskupin, the pre-slavic village/museum. There were some incredibly cute ponies, distinct to Poland, hanging around the village, and of course we had to pet them. :-) Here's Jessica loving the Polish pony, who is happily munching away on some grass.













Speeding along in time, this is the tower in Uniejow Castle, which we stayed overnight in as we already know. Most of us climb this tower, which was so awesome! How often do you get to explore in your own hotel? The view from the top was beautiful, of the surrounding countryside.














While Kimmy, Jessica, Amanda, Kristin and I roamed about the park by the castle, the sun was beginning to set, casting golden light everywhere and creating interesting shadows. This is my attempt at an artistic photo.









Another attempt at an artistic shot, this time at the castle/palace we stopped at along our way to Zakopane.











Finally, here we are at the top of Gublowka Mountain, with the snow-topped Tatra mountains in the background. The view was spectacular, as you can surely see!










Hope you all enjoyed the pictures and that everything is wonderful and dandy back at home!
-Sarah

Zakopane/I have no idea what to call this (Donna)

So, there's been like three posts about Zakopane already, but I am in love with this place. If I ever get married, this is where I'm coming for my honeymoon, no joke.

Anyway. It is refreshing to see mountains after driving in a bus all day yesterday, and though I flew over the Swiss Alps on my way to Italy, I've never seen mountains this beautiful in my entire life.

Dinner last night was quite the adventure. After wandering around the town at about 9:45 and not finding anything open that we wanted to eat, we ended up heading back to the resturant connected to the hotel called Roosters. Now, we heard Kimmy tell us a story about this place on the bus, and we were kind of iffy about going there, but we decided that we were too hungry to not.

Turns out, Roosters is the Polish/European version of Hooters.
Regardless, it was an entertaining night.

This was one of my favorite days here. First of all, we got to sleep in until about 8 (which means i got up at quarter after seven, which really isn't sleeping in at all). Then we wandered around the town. We saw the oldest cathedral in Zakopane (Which was completely wooden and sweet). It was really little and it didn't look like a lot of people could fit in there, but there was a nice wooden version of the Our Lady picture, which was very interesting to me, because there's a copy of it in almost every cathedral we visit.

We also saw a really neat cemetary, that had famous Zakopanians buried in it. There were two that went to the Olympics in Berlin. One barely escaped the Nazi's and one was killed in Auschwitz, which was depressing. But our guide told us that there is a festival for him here every year, which is cool. We also saw the statue of a "Sad Jesus," which is native to this part of Poland. My roommate Maggie let be borrow batteries for my camera, so now I can take more than five pictures a day =D.

Then, we hopped on the train (as someone else posted) and rode up the mountain (and recieved the finger from a little girl who had to walk up the mountain, hahahah.)

The mountain was beautiful, and Jeremy, Dr. B, Kristin and Kimmy went on a gravity tobaggon (sp), which was totally worth Five Zloty. Anyway, I couldn't figure it out at first, but the guy showed me had to press the lever all the way down (though I couldn't really reach because I'm so short) and the it picked up. It was kind of like going down a giant waterslide with no water. It was so beautiful.

After, we wandered around and saw a St. Bernard, which was adorable. And we wandered around on top of the mountain for a while, then left. When we returned to the base of the mountain, we got a lot of free time, and I bought really cool presents for a lot of people.

Anyway, this is really long, so, All is well and we return to the states in less than a week.

<3 Donna

Heading southward

We are currently in Zakopane, practically as far south as one can get in this awesome country. Although I was rather sad to leave behind the central area and the incredible fields of canola plants that dot the landscape with yellow, this area is beautiful as well. The mountains are incredible. The town is located in the Tatras, which are part of the Carpathians, and our hotel has a spectacular view of them. This morning we rode a very small train-type thingy up to the top of one small mountain, I guess you could say, to take in the view from the top, which was incredible. The whole experience is surreal, and I can't believe that we have less than a week left here :(

To backtrack a little bit, we had a great time in Torun. The city is beautiful, and I like that the Old Town is small enough to not be overwhelming but is cool enough to hold your attention. And it was so great to be able to sit down by the riverbank to read or chat with friends. I actually met a really nice British guy down there and gave a drawing rock to his little boy (I overheard the little guy looking for one and I happened to have a rock in my backpack), who was one of the cutest little kids I have ever seen. En route to Zakopane we stopped at Poland's smallest national park that has many really neat rock formations. We wandered along the road looking at them and actually discussed Yugos and how they're probably gonna win the Car of the Year competition for 2009 (yes, that would be sarcasm :) along the way. We also spent the night before last in a castle in Uniejow, which is one the quaintest little Polish towns you could ever hope to see, with a lovely garden/park surrounding the castle. Once we leave Zakopane, our last stop will be Krakow, with day trips to the salt mines and to Auschwitz-Birkenau. Chels and I are also going to meet her cousin Piotr, which is pretty exciting. She'll be the first one of her family to have met him. Hope all is well . . .
~Kate

Castles and Churches and Mountains...Oh My!

For those of you who have been checking the blog regularly, yes we are still alive. The last two places that we stayed had internet, but we did not realize this fact until our departure. Because we haven't blogged in a while, I shall be your tour guide through our past few days in Poland.
We left Torun on Tuesday morning. After two hours on the bus we made a stop en route to Uniejow at Biskupin. Here, we were able to view a pre-Slavic village. In 1934 excavation of this pre-Slavic site began after a local professor notices sticks protruding from a nearby swamp. The excavation revealed numerous artifacts. What were the sticks, you may ask? Well, they were part of the foundation of the pre-Slavic, Lusitanian settlement circa 2,700 years ago. We were able to view artifacts in the museum and visit a small farm where they keep animals that would have been found in the pre-Slavic village. These animals included: oxen, sheep, goats, horses, and dogs. Archaeologists build a mock settlement based on what they believed the actual settlement to look like. We were able to explore the mock settlement and see what it was like to live during the period. It was fascinating to learn about Poland's pre-history!
We loaded up on our typical Polish food: lody (ice cream) and gofry (waffles) and were on our way. We had a surprise stop at Gniezno, which was the very first capital of Poland based on the legend of Lech, Czech, and Russ. According to this legend, the three brothers set out on a journey. Lech saw a white eagle atop a mountain. He was so amazed by it's beauty that he decided to settle there and build a nation around it. (This is why the white eagle is Poland's national emblem). His brothers, Czech and Russ continued on, founding their own nations...you guessed it, the Czech States and Russia. While in Gniezno we visited The Church of the Assumption of Our Lady, which is particularly interesting because it houses the remains of St. Adelbert, the patron saint of Poland.
We finally arrived at Uniejow to spend the night in an actual castle! The castle was gorgeous, although carrying our luggage up all those stairs was not so fun. Dinner was especially exciting. Everyone's eyes lit up when we learned we would be having chicken kiev...and FRENCH FRIES.
Many of us used our free time after dinner to explore the castle. (The picture above shows Kimmy in front of said castle.) There was a tower to climb, a park adjacent to the castle to walk through, and the nearby town to explore. Sarah, Kristin, Kimmy, Jess, and I viewed two statues on our exploration...one of the White Lady and one of the Diablo. We got our guide to tell us the legend behind the White Lady, but we have yet to learn about the Diablo. There are three variants on the tale of the White Lady. In the first, the White Lady falls in love with another man while her husband if off at battle. She is so ashamed and heartbroken that she dies. In the second version, (my favorite) the White Lady grows impatient waiting for her true love to return from the battlefield and dies of sorrow. In the final version, she is charged with adultery while her husband is away and is sentenced to death. In each version, she dies and is said to haunt the castle. I may have had a run in with said White Lady as the flow of water in our shower stopped when I went to turn the cold water on... But this blogger does not believe in ghosts, only spirits, so we'll dismiss the occurrence.
Yesterday we spent most of our day on the bus. We left Uniejow at 8am, arriving in Czestochowa around 10:30. Czestochowa is Poland's National Shrine. The Basilica at Czestochowa is called Jasna Dora, meaning mountain light. Monks run the shrine and over one hundred monks take residence at the shrine. Their main duties are to give mass and hear confessions. There were so many confessionals at Czestochowa. Apparently, on a visit to Czestochowa, John Paul II claimed that Czestochowa was the largest confessional in Poland. We learned that Czestochowa is a pilgrimage site for many people in Poland, especially young people. Many groups walk/bicycle for days to reach the shrine. We saw hundreds of small children in white vestments preparing to receive their first Eucharist. Apparently throughout the month of May young children come from all over to celebrate their first Eucharist at Czestochowa. We obtained a guide and were able to tour the holy site. The main basilica was gorgeous with numerous altars and side chapels. We were also able to see the painting that makes Czestochowa such an important site: the Black Madonna. It is said that this work was painted by St. Paul the Evangelist. It is also said that this painting has survived many ordeals. Early in the paintings history, thieves broke into the basilica and stole many goods. One of the robbers slashed the painting with his knife. Legend says that the painting actually bled. The scars on the Virgin Mother's cheek remain. For me, viewing the painting was not as special as I thought it would be. What should have been a holy site, was more like a tourist attraction. I did not feel comfortable walking through a mass simply to see the painting. I found it disrespectful. Also, everyone was pushing their way through the crowd to see the painting. I found it rude, especially in a church. It was an experience, nonetheless.
We had lunch at a Viking-themed restaurant not far from the national shrine and were on our way again. We stopped briefly at the Ocjow National Forest. We learned about the various species of plants and animals that can be found in Poland's smallest national forest. We also saw the numerous limestone formations in the forest. We visited the Castle of Pieskowa Skala, built under the reign of King Casimir the Great. The castle was used for years by the king and other nobles as a summer residence. Today it is simply a tourist attraction.
We passed by a unique type of church. We have seen innumerable cathedrals, basilicas and churches while in Poland. This one was different however, as it was build over a river. There was an edict in Poland during its early history that said that no holy building was to be built on Polish lands. So, the people built it on the water instead. :)
We finally reached Zakopane around 8:00pm. It was a very long day. We all settled into our hotel, got some grub, and hit the sack. We were all exhausted.
Which brings me to our final stop on our tour of what us kids have been up to the past few days: today. This morning we got to sleep in a little! We were all so relieved. We had breakfast, took a brief tour of Zakopane, and went up a mountain to get a better view of the Tatra Range. It was gorgeous! We had free time, so most of us used our time to go shopping. They have a lot of goods here, mainly woodworking. I picked up a few things and plan on going out later to pick up some more.
But first, a nap. Kristin is already sleeping. I'm sure many of my fellow travelers are too. The exhaustion from the trip is starting to catch up with us...
So there you have it! We are alive and well. Tired, but experienced. Ready to face yet another day of Polish history, culture, and identity!

xoxo
Mandy

Torun...yup we go here!

Today we are in Torun, we had the afternoon free to wander the city and discover some of its hidden treasures. Kate, Maggie, Jeremey and I walked the whole town in a couple of hours stopping at some highlights. Our first stop was the ruins of a castle which seperated the new and old towns in the 15th century. The castle was demolished when there was no longer a need for the seperation. Now the ruins can be visited and roamed. There were mostly just the base fo walls left over but the underground crypts and passages are still fully in tact. We had quite the adventure down there. Also fully in tact is the sanitary tower (or the tower where you can use the toilets, which is seperate from the rest of the castle and drains into the moat/river), which we climbed to. After exploring the ruins, we wandered the city until we happened up the university. A huge gothic building surrounded by a cast iron fence and inside were georgious gardens with aeromatic trees and flowers. We wandered into the yard of the univeristy and peeked inside the main building. It was old! We think that Elmira College is old...1855 and all. Well this place so beat that. At anyrate we moved on and finished our mini tour with the leaning tower which was a disapointment because the tower itself was covered with scaftholding and tarps. Quite a pitty, we could see the door though and it was clear it was crooked. That was Torun in a nut shell, tonight we are getting perogies and then tomorrow we are starting our journey south.

Chelsea

Lungfish, anyone? :)

So here I am in Poland, having an AMAZING time with some awesome people! As you can read about in everyone else's blogs, we have been busy seeing and doing various things. This morning we started out with a leisurely boat ride to Westerplatte, the peninsula where the first shots of WWII took place. Outnumbered by the Germans, the Polish defended themselves for 7 days, impressing even Hitler! After learning about the history of Westerplatte and seeing a magnificently sculpted monument, we made our way back to the bus.
We made a quick stop at the hotel, then we had free time. Kristin, Amanda, Sarah, Kimmy, Jeremy, Maggie and I began with a trip to the aquarium near our hotel. Kimmy, Sarah and I were particularly excited, as we have been feeling very science deprived! (Don't get me wrong, we are loving the trip!) As we made our way through the aquarium, we saw many types of water-dwelling species. So I'm admiring a yellow tang, and I hear Sarah say "Woah! What is that?" I look at the sign, and it is definitely a lungfish! (We learned about these in comparative anatomy during term one, and we had no idea what they looked like. Lungfish are the link between fish and amphibians... very important in the transition to life on land!) I have been ridiculously excited about this all afternoon! It definitely provided me with the science fix I needed! (We will provide you with a lungfish picture when we can get the dang thing to work... I am bad at technology related things...)
Later, we walked along the beach and around the town, taking in as much as we could. After dinner, Kristin, Amanda, Kimmy, Sarah and I sat and people watched for about an hour and a half. This provided us with a chance to experience the Polish culture as it is today. Although we've had the opportunity to tour museums and try all sorts of food, simply sitting and watching people gave us a feel for true contemporary Polish culture.
It was a great day! Tomorrow we head for Malbork to tour a medieval fortress of Teutonic Knights, and then to Torun, where we'll be staying for a couple of days. Time for sleep!

Jess :)

Healthy, Wealthy, and Wise

Yesterday we got a tour of the Tri-City area (Gdansk-Gdynia-Sopot). As part of the tour we got to go to the Baltic Sea beach and put our hands/feet in the water (it was quite cold). Then we took a walk out on the pier so we could get a good look around.

After the pier we got to taste water from the Baltic. According to locals, you make a wish and then take a sip of water with your left hand and your wish will come true and you will live a life that will be 'healthy, wealthy, and wise'.

Then a little while later we went to St. Mary's Basilica. At the Basilica, locals also say that if you put your right hand on the rivit, and a wish, and look through the crack of the door into the church your wish will come true and your life will be 'healthy, wealthy and wise'

Looks like we should be doing pretty good from here on out in life according to those living in Gdansk, Poland :)

We are off to Torun tomorrow morning!

-Over and Out
Jeremy

. . . and we saw Russia

Hello all, how goes it? Things here are continuing to go swimmingly. We have left Warsaw and have spent numerous hours driving through the beautiful Polish countryside, gazing at hundreds upon hundreds of fields of bright yellow canola plants (which, as I have been informed, are used to make cannoli . . . I may have thought that at one point but have since been corrected). I can literally stare out the window for hours on end looking at the landscape and be perfectly content. Not sure whether that's good or bad but regardless I like it :)

We did an overnight in a smaller city called Ketrzyn and while there were able to see (amazingly) the Wolf's Lair - Hitler's hidey-hole in the Polish forest during WWII and also the site of the famed 1944 von Stauffenberg assassination attempt. The idea that we were just going to the forest where that took place was pretty exciting for me, but the fact that we were actually going to be able to see the ruins was mind-boggling. I have seen the actual spot where he set the briefcase down. How amazing is that? And then our guide actually let us go inside some of the bunkers, including Hitler's and Goering's. When she said that I almost had a fit, although she mistook my excitment and astonishment for fear and asked, "What are you so scared of? What could happen?" But to actually go there and do that was surreal. And we saw the building that used to be a hospital that the men wounded from the blast were treated in. I have pictures of Hitler being inside that building and shaking their hands. It was just incredible.

The next day we left Ketrzyn and continued to drive north with a stop in Fromborg. We visited a really interesting cathedral that was built gothic but because of something having to do with the invading Swedes the interior was destroyed and rebuilt in the baroque style. So it's a really interesting contradiction. We climbed to the top of the tower and had an amazing view of the surrounding countryside. And from the top, we saw Russia - just a little strip of barely visible land on the horizon, but it was Russia, and we saw it. Pretty sweet.

Currently we are located in Gdynia, right on the Baltic Sea. We've had an excursion to Gdansk and sort of met the Archbishop of Gdansk which was pretty cool. We have also been extremely privilated to view the world's largest piece of wood (Bill Geist, anyone?) and had dinner in a Kaszubian village and danced with the people who ran the restaurant. Good times, good times. Tomorrow we are heading out to have adventures someplace else . . .

~Kate

...12 Kilometers to the Worlds largets Piece of Wood....

So, you are traveling down the road. Fast, you do not know how fast, but lets just say you snapped your seatbelt about 8 kilometers back when you saw your life flash before your eyes, when you were so rudely awakened from your slumber as you slammed into the back of the seat in front of you. It was not that bad really, not when you consider what happened to that poor old lady.... Just kidding.

Anyway, you are heading to an old time village, are you excited? Not anymore than usual, is that not what you have been checking out for the past week? It is interesting, but what is up with the 1 1/2 hour ride to get there? THEN, you realize. You are not just going to a set old time village; you are going to see THE WORLDS LARGEST PIECE OF WOOD. It is true. I know, you think, well there could be larger pieces… no my friend, not if the Guinness Book of World Records has approved it, and OH YEAH, they did.

You think I am being sarcastic, right? Nope, I am over the top seriously amazed at this. I thought the tourists trap was an American invention. I hardly expected to see such a wondrous thing in the boondocks of Europe, but hark! There it is. And hark one step further, because there is a picture of Lech Walesa helping to cut it. Oh no my friends, this is no small deed, this is the real deal.

Then, imagine your surprise, when you realize that a large, sorry, the World’s largest piece of wood is not all this place holds for you. No, no. That Russian History class you took last term is finally going to come in handy as you step into what was once an exiled Polish family’s home in Siberia. Freaking Stalin you say to yourself, as your excitement takes a turn to the downfall side of the scale. Being in that kind of history is incredibly interesting, but it just does not hold the happiness factor for you that the piece of wood did.

We will fall just a step further into our suppressed history geek excitement as we step onto a sample train, modeled after those, which transported the Polish to Russian work camps. At this point, we will smile at our friend Mandy, because after enduring that most painful Russian history textbook, you actually know everything the tour guide, and the oh so lovely Wlodig (pronounced Vood-dic), are currently telling you. After a quick praise of the great Bobert Shephard, and a quick historical overview with your buddy, you descend from the train.

AND THERE IT IS. You had heard rumors throughout the walk. Mentions of its existence as you trekked through the village, but you really just assumed they had messed up and printed the house upside down in the brochure, these things happen… BUT NO! Not at all. THERE IT IS! An upside down house. No, you had not drank too much of the ‘salt’ water earlier, or taken in too much sun while at the beach. It is actually there in all its magnificence, and guess what? You get to go in it. Yup, yup. For sure madam, step right in and prepare to be dizzy. Woo woo.

There is the feeling. There are slanted floors; you are bending towards the floors just to stay even with the ground, a TV is attached to the ceiling, and really well done paintings convey the significance of the house upstairs… or downstairs if you care to play along. The meaning of the house, by the way is that the world can be changed, turned upside down if you will, if only the people will it. A point the house gets across quite excellently, perhaps to the point that you agree with the tour guide, one should be placed in every capital on earth… Or maybe you just really want one of these this in America.

Magnificence. Everything you ever looked forward to when you had those dreams of living in a shoe, (just like the little old lady’s), and more. The house really messes you up, as you trip around and try to capture its awesomeness on film. Impossible really, you will just have to try to put it into words later. Good luck, conveying its greatness to those back home will be near impossible. Perhaps you could explain it like this… The Statue of Liberty goes out with the Worlds largest Bouncy Ball, they watch the Wizard of Oz together. Here is there baby. Or, you could just say, it was clever and really neato :)

After a quick stop at the church located in the ‘village,’ which honors the Polish who faced the Russian atrocities earlier mentioned, you snap a picture with the cardboard Bison, and head on your way. The Gofr (waffle) from earlier was delicious, but you are ready for some coleslaw, pork and potatoes. No, you are not so hungry you will eat anything. You are just really beginning to like the Polish cuisine. I believe Kimmy has already carried the story from here. ;)

-Kristin

It finally came in handy...

Hello everyone, this is my first blog during the trip because computer time is a highly desired service. Fortunately, Kristen is nice enough to let me use her laptop for the small price of 10 zloty (just kidding). So, as you readers may or may not know, I have a background in Polish Folk dancing. I was part of a Polish Folk dancing group (shoutout to my fellow Kopernik folk dancers) for the majority of my childhood/teenage years. It was always very fun performing (especially at the delicious Wigalia dinners), but I became somewhat reluctant to continue it when I reached middle/high school because well.. let's face it... "Well, I know how to dance the Clarinet Polka" is not the best way to make friends and score dates. However, my mother always told me that this skill would "come in handy" some day and I would not regret doing it. I never believed her.

Tonight, I changed my mind completely. I am finally truly thankful that I endured the years of sweating in layers of costumes and embarrassment of performing in front of my teenage friends at the Binghamton Mets baseball games on Polish Heritage Day. After a day filled with beautiful scenery and buildings, a grueling climb up 400 sketchy steps (even sketchier on the way down) for a totally worth it view, and the excitement of seeing the longest plank of wood in the world (!!) we went to a traditional Kaszubian restaurant (owned and operated by a family that lived above it) and enjoyed, in my opinion, the tastiest meal we have had yet! I was incredibly hungry, and the serve-yourself family style of eating was just perfect! After dinner, the 6 family members performed 3 traditional dances for us (one in which the men made sure the women looked good from all angles, one to make sure the women were not crooks, and one to make sure the women were physically fit) as well as some songs on some very... interesting percussion instruments (one resembling the devil and one made out of a horses tail) which some of us also got to play.

Here comes the intersesting part... the Kazubian family began to dance again and the boy who looked about our age grabbed my hand and asked me to dance with him. I was like, oh wow... I kind of know what I am doing. (although our PFD group had no male members and I never danced with a partner before, the basic rhythm of dancing is very easy to follow once you learn it). It is safe to say that I had one of the funnest (don't care that this isn't a real word) partner dancing experiences of my life. I was out of breath by the end, wearing my partners hat, and was not sure my dinner was going to stay down after so much spinning. My new friend (Mikolai) told me I was a very good dancer and thanked me for the dance. Then the family showed us how the Kaszubian language was preserved through pictures and songs taught to the children by the parents. After the song, the family encouraged all of us to get up and dance with them, and I found my hand being grabbed by the same Polish boy and I was delighted to dance with him again. After we danced a song, he danced with Amanda (it's ok Mandy, I forgive you for dancing with my new boyfriend), as I watched other members of our group (including both our professors) show off their skills. I was very happy to see that everyone was confident enough in themselves to at least give it a good effort : )

After dancing, we looked at the beautiful view of the lake behind the house and everyone began discussing the potential of me staying in Poland and being married off to Mikolai. Wedding options and gifts were even discussed. I laughed at these comments but felt sorry that I would probably never meet a guy in America that could dance with me like him. (really, I had that much fun!). When we were preparing to leave, we talked to Mikolai (who was now dressed in a polo shirt and jeans rather than traditional costume) and learned he is studying computer science in Gdansk University. The bus pulled up and we started to load and I noticed that Jess had in her hand some postcards that she got inside. Of course I had to get some, so I ran back inside. Mikolai (or Mike as he told me to call him) was standing there... and complimented me on my dancing skills again.. and then asked "do you want to be pen friends?" How could I refuse. We exchanged emails and I walked out the door, only to see our bus at the end of the driveway... I ran after it, and after getting on it was met with a lot of laughter from my class. I was told that our guide was convinced that I had decided to stay there. A discussion of my now certain Polish wedding ensued. So yes Mom.. perhaps my Polish dancing skills have helped me land a Polish husband. Just don't be surprised if I am not on the flight home in 2 weeks. Just kidding. At the very least, I have made a new friend and a potential tour guide if ever I venture back to this country : ) Here's a video of me dancing with Mike, Dr. Bizub rocking out on the devil instrument, and Dr. Egan cutting a rug as well ; )

Polish Parliament

A few days ago we visited the Polish Parliament. Here is a little run down of how it works:

There are two houses: The Sejm and the Senate.

The Sejm is the low house and it was 460 members. We saw the chamber. It is a emerald/sea green with a huge Polish type flag on the wall (awesome looking). Althought this is the lower chamber, it has all the power.

The Senate is the upper house, and it was 100 members. This chamber was not very nice looking - it was a small room that was dark blue and not very welcoming. Though the Senate is the upper house, it has very little power. It is more symbolic from the aristocratic and nobility.

It was awesome being there!


We are now in the Baltic Sea area. We ate at Pizza Hut today, because we could not overcome the language barrier to be able to tell what we were ordering at the local shops. Tomorrow we are touring the three cities in this area and then going out for a hosted traditional dinner!

-Over and Out
Jeremy

Note to Self: (Donna)

we climbed 249 stairs to see a pendulum, not the baltic sea and Russia. =D

This is just to remember. ahhaa

longer post later

Continuing the Journey (because we all know it's not about the destination)

Let's see, basically my aim with this post is to put up some pictures of people, since there seems to be a demand for that. I have so many pictures that I would love to put up on here... but that's kind of impossible so here are a few that I picked out. Hope all of you at home enjoy! :-)



Here's the entire gang in the Old Town in Warsaw, by Warsaw's Mermaid. The mermaid is also found on Warsaw's shield. She is said to protect the city with her sword and shield, and even though she hasn't done as well as they may have liked, the people still look to her for protection.








I believe these faces are the "We are Conquering the Old Town" faces. haha. This is the wall that surrounds the Old town in Warsaw.














On our way to the Mazurian Lake region, we stopped for a rest stop. Jessica and I are enjoying our European Fanta! It's so much better here than at home, and comes in many flavors! (such as lemon, which is the kind that Jessica is holding). Quite tasty!













Okay, so I know this is not a person, but I had to put a picture up of the storks we have seen by the road. We were conveniently stopped for construction when this picture was taken. The storks' nests are HUGE... weighing up to 2000 pounds! (if I heard that correctly). As our tour guide said, in some towns, the storks out number the people.













The beach! And the Baltic Sea! and it's probably 50 degrees out! It's still beautiful though, if not beach weather. We had fun tonight walking on the boardwalk and along the pier... attempting to order "American" food, aka hamburgers that tasted like sausage and came with eggs on them. Oh well, what can you do?







Well, that's all for me for today! I hope you enjoyed this pictured-filled post. :-)
-Sarah

Witamy from the Baltic Sea region! We now arrived in Gdansk and we can see the Baltic Sea from the Hotel we are in! Tomorrow we will actually see more of the region. Before we arrived here we saw a few key sites in history-Hitler's bunker where an assassination attempt took place in Mragrowo, and Copernicus's study in Frombork. The "Bunker" was really a whole camp of cement barracks in the middle of a swamp filled with MOSQUITOES. It was really interesting and fun to go through the site, but I still do not love mosquitoes. In Frombork, the Cathedral was beautiful. We did not go through Copernicus's tower, but we did go up another one where you could see so much from the top! You could see the Sea and on the horizon you could see...RUSSIA! That was definitely very cool to see. These sites show how much pride Poland takes in their history. It was also interesting to see the contrast between the urban area of Warsaw and the rural country surroundings. Lots of canola oil plants and some cows. The roads in parts were not the greatest, and we passed a lot of construction workers. Still, it is definitely more rural than parts of New York State. I can't wait to see what Gdansk has to offer tomorrow!
Maggie

Ode to Polish Folk Dancing...

The marketplace below The Palace of Culture and Science is pretty awesome.

We went for a walk yesterday afternoon to take a look around the Warsaw marketplace at the foot of the Palace of Culture and Science, had a cool adventure and saw some neat stuff. Check this out....

(In the grocery store, could not resist)

... Because Lion King was just about one of the best movies ever, and "Can we Fix it? Yes we can!" Sounds good in every language :)









It was neat looking around at what Polish culture is actually like today, and seeing it's links with our own culture... We aren't so different after all... Well mostly. :)

New Friends...New Experiences

We're in Poland...finally. After stolen peanut butter, lost/damaged luggage, a lack of sleep and getting settled in...the fun and new experiences have begun. My first thoughts of Poland were varied. I was thoroughly surprised by amount of greenery in the city. Most cities back home that I've visited don't have as many trees and grass. I really liked this about Warsaw. I was also surprised by the amount of graffiti in the city. It apparently is one of the biggest crimes youth commit in Poland today. I saw several homeless people on street corners. This surprised me as well. Although there are very apparent differences between an American city and Warsaw, Poland, Warsaw seems like a typical city.
I wasn't expecting such a communication barrier. Without our amazing guide to help me translate, I'd be lost in the city. It was hard today when me and everyone were walking around by ourselves. No one understood us. The people who asked us questions, we could only answer "We don't speak Polish." It's odd, but I guess I should have expected it. I wish I had more knowledge of the language. I'm afraid to to use a little bit of Polish, too. I'm afraid that people will think that I know more Polish than I do. I really only know a few words.
I am jealous of the amount of history that Poland has. Our tour guide allowed us to visit his home yesterday. He told us about the young girl and her Jewish fiance who hid in his house's loft during World War II. I don't know any American's who have interesting stories like that about their homes.
I won't lie, I was up late last night. The girls and I hit up the sauna at the hotel. It was great. Then Jessica and I talked late into the night. I was not looking forward to today's activity. I was very tired. It turned out to be an amazing day. The Sejm buildings were gorgeous. Wide open spaces with elegant trim and marble floors and staircases everywhere. It was breath-taking. The guide wasn't too bad either... :)
We then were allowed to tour the Old Town. It's so colorful; I love it. We visited St. Anne's and St. Joseph's Cathedrals. They were....heavenly. For serious, I told Jess that I am moving to Poland and joining one of the parishes just so I can get married in one of these churches. I think the religious parts of our trip are definitely going to have the most impact on me.
We took a tour of the Royal Castle, which was equally as gorgeous. I think the theme for today was definitely breath-taking spaces.
Breath taking spaces...and new friends.
Today was spent a lot with my new friends. We toured the Old Town together, taking lots and lots of silly pictures (I'm sure someone will post some of them). During our free time we visited the Wedding Cake building and did some shopping. Now, we're all just sitting around and talking...celebrating Sarah's 20th Birthday (don't worry Mrs. Keesom, I think she had a great birthday). These kids are great. Parents: you raised pretty cool kids. They are making this trip so much more enjoyable.
So, here's to New Friends...New Experiences.

xoxo
Manda

Yak sie masc from Dr. B! It is wonderful to be back in Poland! Aside from a mild trauma (my luggage got lost in Frankfurt but was returned later the night we checked in--oy!), we're off to a really good start. We've seen a great deal of Warsaw and have been fed to the point of bursting (that is how I know I am actually in Poland, by the way). And, unlike the last time I was here, I'm getting a chance to discover new things about the capital city. I was really enchanted by Lazienki Park, which I had only seen at a glance. Having walked throught the park, the lush grounds early in the morning were a soothing oasis. And touring the Sejm, or the seat of Polish government, was really interesting; Polish democracy came into clearer focus. But on a more personal note, going to these places and many others, I have developed a new understanding and appreciation of freedom to the Poles. And further, I now better understand the enormous spirit and perseverance of the Poles, who have experienced adversity the likes of which are unknown to so many of us in the West. It makes me all the more proud of my Polish heritage. Yes, it is definitely good to be back in Poland! Do widzenie!

Last day in Warsaw (Donna)

IT'S SARAH'S BIRTHDAY. WOO.

Today was a leisurely day, and I throughly enjoyed it.

The morning started off a little bit later than yesterday, which was nice, and after breakfast, we headed to the Polish Parliament.
Once we got there, it was a bit confusing to try and figure out where we had to go to, but once we got everything straightened out, we met our tour guide, who surprisingly, spoke very good English.
He gave us a tour of the Parliament, the chamber where the Sejm (kind of like the US House of Representatives) meets, the Senat (just like our Senate) chamber, a media press room and a couple of other rooms. It was really interesting to make comparisons between the US government and the Polish government. Apparently it's not much different because the guide said the Senate basically did nothing (haha) and that the Christian Right had much influence on the government there as well, in fact, the Prime Minister has his own chair in the Sejm chamber.

Then, we got back on the bus and went to the Old Town (which is conveniently located about a mile away from our hotel, well, walking distance anyway). When we got there we had about two hours of free time to wander around before we had to meet at the Royal Castle (where everyone past Sigmund lived, which is why there's a statue of him in front of it). So, we mostly just wandered around. There was a big giant defense wall thing that I forgot the name of, and it was accessible, so we climbed on that for about a half an hour. Then we wandered around the old town and basically covered it all for the next two hours. We ended up feeding some birds and having them swarm all over us before we decided to move in order to avoid being excreted on.

Later, we met the rest of our group and toured the castle. It was amazing. I enjoyed it much more than the palace we visited yesterday. Basically all of the rooms were draped in gold and there were really cool pictures and our guide was really nice. I had two favorite rooms. One was the Ballroom, which was basically all gold and gold marble with really nice chandeliers. The second was the king's room with black marble and portraits of all of the kings of Poland, plus influential Polish people.

Unfortunately, I did not get any pictures of any of the rooms in the palace (as my camera was in Jeremy's bag) but several other people did and I am sure that they will be posted.

After the castle, we had a very nice lunch (with so much food I don't want to eat for three days) and this very interesting chocolate mango ice cream combination.

Then we came back to the Hotel and we have the rest of the day to do whatever we like.
Tonight we're celebrating Sarah's birthday.
Tomorrow we get to sleep in even more (Until 9!) and then we pack up and move on to our next location, which I'm not sure of right now because I don't have my itinerary =(.

That's all for now =D

-Donna.

New Buildings, Old Buildings

As you have heard we are here!!

I was really surprised when we got here because I was expecting an older city. I knew that most of the city had been distroyed by the war but I did not realize it was so much. Many of the building are post war or have been recontructed to the orginal facade. These building are really pretty. This city much have really been something before the war, but even now it is quite an interesting city. There is a lot of people walking here and there, most chatting and just stolling down the street. The city is very different from other European cities, but I am growing acustom to seeing the communist style building next to the prewar buildings.

The walk Kate, Maggie and I took was georgious. There were small cafes along the street with locals sitting sipping coffee and just chatting. The whole atmosphere was friendly and leisurly as though calling one to sit and just watch the people. It was tempting but we decided to head back and catch some rest.

Chelsea

Our first full day in Warsaw

Welcome to Poland! I can't believe that we are here... it hardly seems possible. Warsaw is kind of what I expected, after looking at pictures online, and after previous times of being in Europe. Obviously, it is not exactly the same as Western Europe, but it has many attributes that are. There's the mineral water, of course, which we all know is NOT water, and should not be masqueraded as such, because that can be kind of disappointing when one is very thirsty. One big different is the Soviet style buildings (obviously built by... you guessed it... the Soviets!). They are as lifeless as the buildings of the Old Town are full of life! They have no ornamentation, not anything unique. Just flat concrete walls, and almost prison-like, in my opinion. I can't imagine how depressing a whole city of these buildings would be like.

Today was a busy day, but, as it has already been described, I would just like to add in a few things. First, a picture of one of the red squirrels that had been so praised already. Aw... isn't he cute? I love the little ear tufts! I just wonder how some of the locals must have been laughing at us... oh well!








Here is a BEAUTIFUL male peacock that decided to show off his tail feathers. There were quite a few of the males calling (sounding slightly like a mix between a meow and someone saying hello), which is not the most peaceful song, in the park. We saw these pretty boys in Lazienki Park (which is pronounced "Wash-i-ayn-key" or something close to that). I found it amusing that our first stop in Warsaw, Poland's capital, was a park, where we were taking pictures of the wildlife. It was definitely a peaceful way to start the day.




Here we are listening to our tour guide tell us about this Romanesque amphitheater, still in Lazienki Park. Note the peacocks on the stage, and the fact that the stage is across the water.











While we were at the museum for the Warsaw uprising, our tour guide found some of us, and brought us to the bottom floor, where we were able to go through a reconstructed sewer system, where is how the members of the Warsaw uprising got around the city, without the Germans finding out. It was pretty narrow and rounded at the bottom, so it was hard to walk through it. Difficult as it was, we didn't have to deal with what is normally found in sewers, and other things left as products of the war. Still, it gave me a new appreciation for what the Poles did to fight for their freedom.









Our last stop for the day was at Wilanow Palace, where we got a very detailed tour of the Palace. At first, I was disappointed, because I was expecting something like Versailles, but the whole top floor contained a lot of portraits of the royalty and other relations. I was pleasantly surprised, when we got to the first floor, and it was beautifully decorated and furnished, with gold accents everywhere, and murals on the ceiling, with sculptured corners.




Well, that's all from me for today!
-Sarah

"Oh Susannah" and mutant red squirrels

We're heeeeeere . . . and it's awesome!! Things went pretty well yesterday and we are settled in at our hotel which is basically right in the center of the city. We have a great view of a large building that was a "gift" from Stalin (he made them an offer they couldn't refuse) and thus has been nicknamed after a certain part of his anatomy. Our tour guide is pretty awesome; he knows what he's talking about and is really cool. Last night we went to dinner at a restaurant that served us what Dr. Bizub termed "Polish soul food." It was five courses, starting with mincemeat pierogies, including a rather interesting soup that contained strips of kielbasa and an entire hard-boiled egg, some salad, pork (which was rather delicious) with a side of . . . well I wouldn't know how to really describe them - kind of like chewy gummies but potato flavored?, and ending with fruit crepes (which I, in my uncultured, non-"Bon Apetit" reading ignorance thought were just flimsy tortillas before being hastily corrected). There were people playing music there . . . the oddest assortment of music any of us had ever heard. They started out with Latino or something, and then moved into the most interesting montage of songs you could imagine, including but not limited to "Jingle Bells," "Spanish Eyes," "Rock Around The Clock," "Oh Susannah," "Yankee Doodle," and another Christmas song that I can't remember the name of. It was quite an experience.

Today we did a tour of Warsaw and picked up a second guide, one who just does Warsaw, especially for this. It was really weird doing it by bus, though, since I've only ever walked cities. It was so odd to be looking at stuff just going by in a bus. I really do think that the only way to really see a city is by walking it, but we do have a limited amount of time and we did get to see more stuff this way. It's just so great to be walking around these quaint, beautiful streets. This morning we saw Lazienki Part which was lovely. They have peacocks just roaming around, and a few of them did the complete tailfeather display for us, which was very cool. We also saw giant red squirrels with huge ears - here we are, standing in front of this incredibly historically important statue of Chopin, and we're taking pictures of the squirrels. Apparently Polish squirrels come in the red and black varieties. We walked around the Old Town a little bit - very neat, and just had a cool feeling about it. It reminded me a lot of Bremen, actually. We also went to the museum for the Warsaw Uprising of 1944, which was really fascinating, although you'd need practically an entire day to see everything in there properly. Our Warsaw guide also took us to his parents' house to show us a 20 minute documentary - it was slightly odd to just be sitting in their living room like that, but it turns out that his aunt hid 3 Jews and the one guy's Gentile fiancee in that house during the Ghetto Uprising. For me that had a lot of significance, so that was really neat to find out.

Anywho, I shall leave off here . . . tonight we're eating somewhere in the Old Town and then Chels and I are going to explore Nowy Swiata Street 'cause it's really pretty and we just drove through it today. Take care, all.

Kate

So far...

So, I did not get much sleep last night. I felt exhausted when I went to bed, but then I woke up around 3AM our time. And now, at 6 AM I am just beginning to feel tired again. Oh yes, I see great coffee in my future.

Lets see, what else is there to say about this trip so far? Jeremy had good points about the planes, it was a pretty smooth ride here, at least as far as I assume, I personally am afraid of heights, and was able to settle in pretty comfortably on the big plane, so that was dandy.

Poland, so far, is great. My assumptions prior to arriving here were that it would be totally foreign looking, but so far I feel like if you changed the language on the billboards and signs, Warsaw could easily be a part of Albany, New York. I am guessing this comparison with Albany will slowly fade away later today when we go to see the Old Town, from what I have read on it, the Old town is supposed to be beautiful, colorful, and fashioned off the 13^th century look it had prior to Nazi invasion in the 1940’s. I'm pretty excited about that...

Okay, so that is pretty much all for now. Except this awesome picture from our hotel window that I told my Dad I would post. It is of the Palace of Culture and Science. From what I hear it is known by a totally different name here, but i am going to go ahead and make the executive decision that such a name is not appropriate for an EC Blog :)

My tummy is growling...
Kristin